1738                            JOINT RESOLUTIONS

No. 7
(Senate Joint Resolution 28)

Senate Joint Resolution sending warm greetings and sincere con-
gratulations to the people of Dorchester County upon the observ-
ance of the county's 300th anniversary.

Whereas, The members of the General Assembly of Maryland are
proud to salute and congratulate the people and the government of
Dorchester County upon the observance of the county's 300th anni-
versary as a part of the governmental framework of the State of
Maryland.

On February 4, 1669, Governor Charles Calvert and his Council
issued a writ to Raymond Stapleford, Sheriff of the area destined
to become Dorchester County, directing that on April 13 following,
he hold an election of delegates to attend the General Assembly of
the Province of Maryland.

At the time of the election, the Honorable Robert Preston was
chosen to serve as the first Delegate representing Dorchester County.
Commissioners were appointed to govern the county, and a Clerk
and Keeper of the Records was named.

Over the years, Dorchester County has produced an outstanding
set of local, State, and national leaders. They have included Brigadier
General Henry Hooper, Major Daniel Fallin, and other brave men
who served during the Revolutionary War; William Vans Murray,
who served as George Washington's Minister to The Hague; Gov-
ernor Thomas Holliday Hicks, who is credited with keeping Mary-
land within the Union; Anna Ella Carroll, an official advisor to
Abraham Lincoln, and sometimes known as an unofficial member of
Lincoln's Cabinet; Harriett Tubman, one of the leaders of the Under-
ground Railroad; Governors John Henry, Charles Goldsborough,
Henry Lloyd, Phillips L. Goldsborough, and Emerson C. Harrington,
who, with distinction, all filled the office of Governor of Maryland;
and Senator George L. Radcliffe, a descendant of an early settler, a
civic leader, and sometimes known as the Dean of Maryland His-
torians.

Yet, with all these great leaders, the core of the development and
progress of Dorchester County has been in the sturdy yeomanry
who first settled the county and the independent, industrious, and
enlightened citizenry who have preserved and constantly improved
this fine, old Maryland county.

Dorchester County was named for the Earl of Dorset, a family
friend of the Calverts.

The county is blessed with an abundance of natural resources,
rich farmlands, productive waters, outstanding beauty, and great
human resources. The people are warm and hospitable, proud of
their historical heritage, and reluctant to relinquish even a small
shred of their independence and self-expression.

The General Assembly of Maryland, proudly recalling its own
heritage as the seat of legislative power in Maryland for more than
three and one-third centuries, sends warm and affectionate greetings
to its County of Dorchester and to the outstanding civilian popula-
tion and governmental leaders of Dorchester County.